24 Hour Read-a-Thon

Inner snobbish book nerd activated. I am so ready and excited for Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon. It's today! Last year I was a cheerleader; this year I stepped it up a notch by actively participating as a reader. I start at 8 a.m. EST. I'm so not a morning person, but this is worth the exception.

I plan to read a mix of material to break up the monotony.

• Amaryllis in Blueberry (365 pages)
• Haunting Jasmine (207 pages)
• Imaginary Men (172 pages)
• Always The Baker, Never The Bride (48 of 242 pages read)
• Blogs in my Google Reader (approx. 84 unread posts)
• Rolling Stone Magazine 
• Marie Claire Magazine

For a brief summary of each book, linger your mouse over the covers in the Currently Reading bookshelf above. Keep checking back here and my timeline (@LDotMarie) for progress updates and to cheer me on. All comments, suggestions, support, and words of encouragement are appreciated. Oh, and it's not too late to sign up! There's currently 437 participants (I'm #101).

TBR Pile

Snacks

Drinks

Fully Charged MacBook

Fully Charged NOOKColor

Now for some beauty rest before I start functioning with fiction. See you in a few hours, bookhearts!

-------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE AT 8:01 A.M. INTRODUCTION

1) I'm reading from Detroit, MI.
2) Three random facts: I'm a copyeditor. I'm almost XXX. I'm addicted to Pepsi.
3) For the next 24 hours, I have a realistic three books in my TBR pile with 2 magazines, Google Reader, and a TBR pile on stand-by.
4) My goal is to stick to my plan.
5) My advice is to take breaks and eat snacks.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE AT 1:10 P.M. 5 HOURS DOWN, 19 HOURS TO GO

I spent the first hour cheerleading to rev and wake myself up. In the next four hours, I spent a little time on Twitter responding to #readathon mentions, entered a couple mini-challenges, and finished all 365 pages of Amaryllis in Blueberry. It was a complex read, but interesting. The story is told by four daughters and their parents. The mother is emotionally distant. Blueberry-eyed Yllis, the youngest daughter, is a synesthete and easily detects the sensations of others. To run away from personal issues, the father insists on moving the family from Michigan to West Africa. Then, the mother is on trial for murdering her husband. Sound familiar? It is very similar to The Poisonwood Bible and The Secret Life of Bees.

Well, it's lunch time. Next I'll read the latest issue of Rolling Stone via my NOOKColor. Check back in a few!

-------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE AT 4:00 P.M. 8 HOURS DOWN, 16 HOURS TO GO

Amazingly, I'm still hanging in here eight hours later. The tricky part will be my early evening nap time. My body is used to resting at a certain point in the day. Although, I've been eating snacks and meals to boost my energy. Too bad it's Lent. I sure could use an ice cold Pepsi right about now.

Anyhoot, I've finished reading the current issue of Rolling Stone with Rihanna on the cover. I have a lot of random comments that I'll blog about later. I've also participated in three mini-challenges so far and met quite a few new people while cheerleading and making blog rounds. For the next couple hours, I'll continue with clearing the unread posts in my Google Reader.

S/O to the cheerleaders, friends and family that keep checking on me. Much appreciated!

-------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE AT 5:08 P.M. 9 HOURS DOWN, 15 HOURS TO GO

I've finished reading all 84 of the unread blog posts. Woo hoo! Now I'm taking an hour break to eat dinner and travel to Barnes & Noble for some free in-store reading. Love living la vida NOOKColor!

------------------------------------------------------------------- UPDATE AT 11:06 P.M. 15 HOURS DOWN, 9 HOURS TO GO

So far I have read 3 books, 2 magazines, and 84 blog posts (titles and pics listed above). Whew...it's a good thing I re-arranged my schedule and planned well in advance for today. I haven't had any interruptions. For a change of scenery and to psych my mind about skipping my routine evening nap, I went to Barnes & Noble. There I was able to read eBooks for free on my NOOKColor. I actually only have one planned book left. So I'm taking another one hour break, then diving back in. Um, where are my cheerleaders? Looks like I've outlast them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE AT 1:00 A.M. 17 HOURS DOWN, 7 HOURS TO GO

I might not make it. I skipped a nap. My eyes are getting heavy. There's an imaginary magnet on my forehead connecting to my NOOKColor screen. I might not make it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE AT 4:19 A.M. 20 HOURS DOWN, 4 HOURS TO GO

Snacking on almond M&M's, hearing Rocky's theme song in my head, and checking in with other read-a-thoners gave me an energy boost. Plus I just won the "Still Reading" prize! My plan for the remaining four hours is to keep turning the pages back, not the bed sheets.

Also, I'm reading Always the Baker, Never the Bride. It has lots of yummy recipes. Aunt Sophie's Red Velvet Cupcakes sounds so mouth watering. Don't they look delish?

-------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE AT 8:09 A.M. THE END

I vaguely remember snacking on almond M&M's and reading the same sentence repeatedly. I glanced at the time and it was 4:51 a.m. At that point I got up, walked around, drunk a cold glass of water in hopes that it would revive me. But I just didn't make it. I lasted a lot longer than I thought and loved this year's fun read-a-thon. The time actually went by fast.

SUMMARY OF LAST 24 HOURS:

14 hours read
3 hours break
3 hours slept
4 hours cheerleading, doing mini-challenges & #readathon tweets

792 book pages read 
3 full books read
2 magazines read
84 blog posts read
8 mini-challenges

Thanks to all who cheered me on, stopped by, and read along. Until next time, zzzzzzzzzz